The present invention relates to method and system for providing online information in a networked user environment in which an end-user runs an application program and transmits data to an online server while running the application program.
The present invention has basically a scope which covers any kind of information to be provided to the above-mentioned end-user. It is, however, discussed with prior art documents in the field of online-help.
Such a prior art technique for providing context-sensitive online-help is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,757,904. With reference to FIG. 1 said disclosure focuses the situation for the staff working in a call center and supporting clients symbolized as end-users 10 requesting information for an intended business process.
Said information may be of general nature, of course. In many cases, however, this will include some help information. Thus, help information is considered to be an exemplary type of information only, and is used in here to establish a definite example for setting out the differences between prior art and the present invention.
The end-user 10 is identified by a User-ID. The relevant data associated with his current session is stored in a database 14. Thus, the help agent 12 may access said database and read the user's session history data. Help information is requested and delivered via an online connection, e.g., via the Internet.
In said disclosure it is argued that the help agent 12 in the help desk center is confronted with too much information such that it is very difficult for said person to distinguish between more important and less important information. In order to make the job of the help agent more efficient, easy, and to allow it to be done with less skill and experience, said disclosure proposes to establish a form of information filter 16 which renders the important information for example in a highlighted form on the monitor of the help agent. Alternatively, unimportant information may be optionally totally suppress to the help agent.
From the help agents' point of view this may be a means for making his job simpler and more efficient. The disadvantage, however, is that the burden for the person 10 who is requesting help is still the same when said person has to describe the problem which he is actually confronted with and which is the reason for requesting help at the help agent.
Dependent of the actual business situation and application program in use—for example an online-provided JAVA-application—the end-user is obliged to tell the help agent 12 many details about the possibly multiple transactions he has already completed in order to give an accurate impression of the current status of work when talking to him.
This, however is a very burdensome task for the end-user because he is obliged to just repeat things which are already completed, or he is obliged to tell many details referring to his personal application environment, which represent detailed information the help agent is definitely required to know about in order to be able to appreciate the situation and the problems of a given end-user.